Morales here to visit RP’s resort for rich and famous

Erik Morales, the classy Mexican boxer, was scheduled to arrive in Manila last night, not for the planned San Miguel Beer commercial, but for a short vacation with some Filipino friends.

Morales, who was knocked out by Manny Pacquiao in the third round in Las Vegas last November, was to stay at the Diamond Hotel along Roxas Blvd. last night, a source said.

A hotel employee said that Morales was indeed scheduled to come in last night.

Morales and Pacquiao met thrice in less than two years, with the Filipino winning the last two. They were scheduled to do a commercial for SMB but the plan was shelved for the meantime.

A boxing insider said last week that Morales was scheduled to fly in this month together with his wife, and upon the invitation of some Filipinos whom the Mexican fighter met in the US.

Morales, the same source added, was to be brought to Amanpulo, the highly-exclusive resort on the Pamalikan Island off Palawan, and 300 kms off Manila for a very brief vacation.

Amanpulo is where the rich and famous spend their privacy. The cheapest rooms in the resort go for $700 a night, and the most expensive at around $3,000 a night.

To get there, guests take a chartered plane either from Manila or Cebu at $300 for a round-trip ticket.

Even Hollywood stars are said to have visited the place, among them Robert de Niro, Mariah Carey, Tom Cruise and Michael Jackson.

Morales, a future Hall-of-Famer, is about to join the distinguished list.